Today in Washington D. C. - July 13, 2009 - Confirmation News of ACORN Groves Overshadowed by Judge Sotomayor Sexist Comment

Senate will reconvene at 11 AM today and begin consideration of the fiscal 2010 Defense authorization bill, S. 1390. The bill would authorize $679.8 billion in military funding. At 4:30 PM, the Senate will begin debate on the nomination of Robert Groves to be Census director, followed by a cloture vote at 5:30. [Robert Groves who wants ACORN to help do the census.]

At 10 this morning, the Judiciary Committee began hearings on the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to be an associate justice of the Supreme Court. Most of the day today will be taken up by opening statements from senators, Judge Sotomayor’s introduction, and her own opening statement. Questioning of Judge Sotomayor will begin on Tuesday, and likely continue into Wednesday. On Thursday, and possibly Friday, witnesses for and against Judge Sotomayor will be heard from, including Frank Ricci of the New Haven Fire Department.

Senate Republicans are looking to have a respectful hearing, but have serious questions about the judicial philosophies espoused by both President Obama and Judge Sotomayor. Americans want to be assured that Judge Sotomayor and any future nominees from President Obama will be committed to the principle engraved above the entrance to the Supreme Court, “Equal Justice Under Law.” Among the issues that Republicans will be looking for Judge Sotomayor to explain her thoughts on are President Obama’s so-called “empathy standard,” and her approach to the Ricci v. DeStfano case.

There has been much discussion of Judge Sotomayor’s remarks at Berkeley where she said, “I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life.” Notice, she did not say "Latino male" or "African American male or woman," etc. Her comment is beyond being apparent that it was both sexist and racially motivated.

Though Democrats have sought to downplay these comments, it’s since come to light that she’s made similar statements repeatedly over the years, ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), pointed out today in his opening statement. “[T]he nominee did not misspeak. She is on record making this statement at least five times over the course of a decade. These are her own words, spoken well before her nomination. They are not taken out of context.”

Also at issue is Sotomayor’s ruling against a group of white and Hispanic firefighters from New Haven, CT, who sued because they were denied promotion because the city thought not enough minority candidates had passed the promotion test. Sen. McConnell explained the issue, saying: “[A]ll nine Justices on the Supreme Court said that Judge Sotomayor got the law wrong. She ruled that the government can intentionally discriminate against one group on the basis of race if it dislikes the outcome of a race-neutral exam and claims that another group may sue it. Or, as Judge Cabranes put it, under her approach, employers can ‘reject the results of an employment examination whenever those results failed to yield a desired racial outcome, i.e., failed to satisfy a racial quota.’”

Sen. Sessions drilled down to the key question about the case in his opening statement: “Judge Sotomayor has said that she accepts that her opinions, sympathies, and prejudices will affect her rulings. Could it be that her time as a leader of the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund provides a clue as to her decision against the firefighters?” Sen. McConnell said, “It is an admirable quality to be a zealous advocate for your clients and the causes in which you believe. But judges are supposed to be passionate advocates for the even-handed reading and fair application of the law, not their own policies and preferences.” As Sen. Sessions pointed out today, it is the Senate’s job to determine whether Judge Sotomayor meeds this standard.

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Tags: ACORN, confirmations, Jeff Sessions, Puerto Rican legal Defense and Education Fund, Robert Groves, Sonia Sotomayor, US Congress, US Senate, Washington D.C. To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!